Africa’s offshore frontier is shaking again. This week, an international energy giant made a jolt to Nigeria’s deepwater sector. Total Energies has sold a 40% stake in two offshore exploration licenses (PPL 2000 and PPL 2001) to Chevron as part of the country’s latest licensing round. Meanwhile, in Ghana, the government is actively negotiating to acquire Springfield Exploration and Production’s Western Cape Three Point Block 2 (WCTP2) deepwater block. Although the potential of this field has long been recognized, development challenges have delayed its development. These movements are indicative of broader trends. As investors and governments alike seek to manage geological and financial risks, high-value peripheral assets are being traded, revalued, or placed under state surveillance.
Meanwhile, further south along Namibia’s African coast, the offshore landscape is rapidly evolving. The southern Orange Basin continues to receive attention after a series of recent discoveries. Not only the famous Venus Field (block 2913B), first discovered by Total Energies in 2022, but also more recent discoveries such as Capricornus‑1X and Volans‑1X, drilled by Rhino Resources in 2025, and the Mopane complex, discovered by Gulp in 2024, are also attracting attention. Venus and its partners, including NAMCOR, QatarEnergy and Impact Oil and Gas, are working to advance the development with a view to FID in early 2026.
At the same time, in Ivory Coast, the Callao discovery announced in March 2024 from the Mourene 1X well in Block CI‑205 is valued at approximately 1 billion to 1.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent, making it the country’s second-largest offshore discovery after Balaine. Follow-up evaluation and seismic survey work continues across both blocks in Ivory Coast and Namibia, reflecting a strong commitment to converting these discoveries into production.
This contrast between licensing restructuring in traditional basins like Nigeria and Ghana and the burgeoning frontier development in Namibia and Ivory Coast reflects a dual narrative across Africa’s deepwater sector. On the one hand, established water bodies are being reassessed under new risk parameters, and on the other hand, newly emerging watersheds are being pushed towards rapid development.
Against this backdrop, the Africa Energy Investment 2026 Forum in Paris will host an expert panel on ‘De-risking deepwater exploration for Africa’s billion dollar discoveries’, bringing together geoscientists, data analysts, operators, financiers and regulators to discuss how modern methodologies – from advanced geophysical imaging and 3D/4D seismic reprocessing to probabilistic reservoir modeling and basin-wide risk frameworks – can transform. Invest high-risk frontier prospects in reliable financial assets.
In regions such as the Orange Basin of Namibia and the deep sea of Ivory Coast, these tools can make the difference between long-term evaluation and decisive discovery of frontiers for development. In more mature zones such as Nigeria’s West Delta and Ghana’s WCTP2, the same technology could help re-evaluate resource potential, optimize work programs and attract funding under tighter risk-reward scrutiny.
For both investors and host countries, the confluence of new licensing agreements, aggressive frontier development, and improved technological capabilities presents a narrow window of opportunity. Decisions made over the next 12 to 24 months – what gets drilled, evaluated and abandoned – could determine whether Africa’s deepwater sector can establish itself as a stable growth engine. Against a backdrop of asset volatility, the emergence of basins, and growing demand for disciplined investment, IAE 2026 represents a real opportunity to build the foundational framework for Africa’s offshore future.
IAE 2026 is a special forum aimed at connecting African energy markets with global investors and will serve as a key platform for deal-making in the lead-up to Africa Energy Week. Scheduled for April 22-23, 2026 in Paris, the event will offer participants two days of in-depth interaction with industry experts, project developers, investors and policy makers. For more information, please visit www.invest-africa-energy.com. To become a sponsor or register as a representative, please contact sales@energycapitalpower.com.
